NAIROBI (Xinhua) --Organizers of the 2019 World Rally Championship (WRC)
‘candidate event’ that will be staged in Kenya and which could
lead to a return of championship to the global arena on Monday
announced that work on the route design to stage the event’s
‘special stage’ will commence Sept.19.

George Mwangi,
Safari’s Deputy Clerk-of-Course who is also a member of the
Local Organizing Committee, said the special stage will be held
at the expansive Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi next July.

“The special stage
which will be held after scrutineering will offer spectators an
action packed afternoon at Kasarani Stadium whose roads were
originally designed with a possible Formula 1 circuit in mind.
This will be the first time Kasarani will be hosting a rallying
event in 15 years,” he said during a media briefing.

The event will be
followed by two days of action, observed by the Federation
Internationale de I’Automobile (FIA) officials and WRC Promoter
amongst other stakeholders in the world of auto racing.

Michelle Mouton, the
1983 WRC Safari Rally third-place finisher who is the FIA safety
delegate, is expected in Kenya early next year to access the
route and the safety plan and also offer guidance.

Mwangi said they
have identified Nakuru County as option ‘A’ of the Candidate
Event which is the precursor of a possible 2020, the earliest
the Safari can be re-admitted to the World Rally Championship
after 18-year hiatus.

He said they will
explore other options also, but noted they have a clear cut
schedule to meet all set deadlines and will involve the WRC
Promoter, who is the commercial and media rights holder of the
World Championship, in all aspects of the route concept once
they settle for the best practical option.

Organizers started
preparations for the 2019 WRC Candidate Event in March that
culminated in the signing of an agreement between the Kenyan
government and the WRC Promoter’s Managing Director Oliver
Ciesla in Paris in June this year which granted Kenya the
‘candidate event’ status.